As it announced ambitious organizational changes, PropelICT revealed Thursday that four startups that went through Cohort 4 of its Launch36 accelerator have received $150,000 convertible notes from BDC Venture Capital.
Propel held its annual general meeting Thursday night, formalizing its plan to hold three simultaneous cohorts this autumn and announcing a new board of directors and new role for executive director Trevor MacAusland.
The organization said the following companies have received a $150,000 convertible note from the venture capital arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada:
• Adeptio, Charlottetown, which offers software and programs for personal coaches;
• HotSpot Parking, Fredericton, which allows for remote payment of parking meters and helps small businesses manage customer relationships;
• Qimple, Moncton, which helps companies to manage and analyze applications when hiring people;
• And Resson Aerospace, Fredericton, whose aerial surveillance system helps farmers detect crop diseases.
BDC Venture said last summer it would extend convertible notes of $150,000 each to recent graduates of Canadian accelerators that it deems to be investment ready. As well as Launch36, it makes this offer to such accelerators as GrowLab in Vancouver and FounderFuel in Montreal.
With the inclusion of the four most recent companies, seven Launch36 graduates will have now secured BDC funding through the program.
In other news, Jeff Thompson (profiled today on Entrevestor) became chair of the organization, replacing Scott MacIntosh. He welcomed new directors to the board that reflect the organization’s regional nature. The new directors are Rob Cowan (Halifax), Steven Burns (Fredericton), Jeff Grammer (Boston), Gerry Lawless (Charlottetown) and Jo Mark Zurel (St. John’s).
MacAusland, who has overseen the Launch36 program since its inception and made it a regional initiative, will now become the Vice-President of Business Development.
“It will enable me to focus on what I love doing the most -- helping to curate the entrepreneurial community, build a more diverse and international mentor network and work with our community partners,” said MacAusland in a statement. He said the goal is “to make sure we continue to deliver the quality accelerator services that the community has become accustomed to in recent years.”
Earlier this month, Propel announced that it would collaborate with Volta Labs in Halifax and Planet Hatch in Fredericton to deliver its next cohort. Both of the startup spaces will host a new initiation program called Launch36 “Start”, which will provide mentorship and physical space over 12 weeks for seed-stage startups.
Meanwhile, growth stage companies will be able to enter the Launch36 “Build” accelerator, which will meet over 12 weeks in Moncton.
Propel aims to have nine companies in each of the “Start” programs, and six in the “Build” program. That means 24 companies will be mentored by PropelICT this autumn. It also means that if every team completes the course, the total number of Launch36 graduates in three years will be 56.
Disclaimer: Entrevestor receives financial support from government agencies that support startup companies in Atlantic Canada. The sponsoring agencies play no role in determining which companies and individuals are featured in this column, nor do they review columns before they are published.
